Ann Romney makes surprise appearance before San Diego City Council

SAN DIEGO — Ann Romney wants to start building her new house sooner rather than later.

Tuesday night in San Diego, Romney spoke to the city council for approximately two minutes during the public-comment period. She sought to expedite the permit process for renovation plans to her seaside home in La Jolla, Calif. — the same plans, it should be noted, that include the car elevator that captured national attention during the 2012 presidential campaign.

The Christian Science Monitor reported, “Ms. Romney, speaking at a fast clip and in a polite tone, is now a private citizen living in La Jolla, Calif., (a San Diego suburb) with her husband. And so she exercised a right afforded to all those like her who live in the area — she used the nonagenda public comment portion of the city council meeting to address her elected officials. The issue, Romney explained, is that the permit process for the expansion of the Romneys’ luxury coastal property was slowed, ‘due to potential defects with the public notice.’”

CNN.com’s Kevin Liptak noted, “(Romney’s) remarks were sandwiched between a host of other San Diegans issuing comments and concerns during the public session. A representative of San Diego State noted football season begins in two months; two residents complained about the preponderance of marijuana use, and one woman declared San Diego a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah for rules barring public prayer, before herself launching into a long prayer for the city.”

The hometown San Diego Union-Tribune contextualized Ann Romney's appearance: “It’s not unusual for dignitaries and sports stars to make appearances in the city council chambers, although most often it is by invitation, so it was a rare moment when Romney requested to speak during the public-comment period. Several national political blogs wrote about her comments, noting her pulled-back hair and unassuming approach.”